Battle of the Bloodlines is the 27th season of The Challenge. It premiered on December 2, 2015 and concluded with the "S#!t They Should Have Shown" special on February 17, 2016.

Description

Fourteen players from MTV series will travel to Bodrum, Turkey to join the people who know their toughest strengths, crippling weaknesses, and deepest fears better than anyone -- their own flesh and blood. In this unprecedented format, competitors will battle it out WITH and AGAINST their bloodlines, turning family into foe. This shake-up gets even more twisted when players learn that their fates are combined with their bloodlines’. It’s anyone’s game when family still means everything, because despite strong performances, competitors could still go home if their relatives fall short. With $350,000 on the line and family honor to defend, there will be blood.

Format

Each team participates in numerous challenges which are followed by an elimination round — "The Pit." The winning team of each challenge earns immunity from entering The Pit, while the last-place finisher is automatically sent to The Pit. The winning team also earns the right of choosing the team that will face the last-place finisher in The Pit. There is, however, a condition in which if a same-gender team is automatically sent to The Pit, the winning team is required to send a team that has at least one player of the matching gender to compete in The Pit. The team who wins the elimination round returns to the game and has the opportunity to compete for a share of a $350,000 prize, while the losing team is eliminated from the game.

Host T. J. Lavin initially did not reveal any twists to the gameplay, however, beginning in Episode 3, a twist to the game occurred when players were forced to compete against their bloodlines. From then on, the two teams would compete against each other so that the winning team of a challenge was safe from elimination and could nominate one player from the losing team for "The Pit." The losing team is also required to nominate one of their players for "The Pit." Whichever player wins the elimination round returns to the game while the other is sent home along with their bloodline from the opposing team.

In Episode 10, the families were brought back together and competed as pairs for the remainder of the season.

Money for finalists is split as follows:

First Place: $250,000 ($125,000 each)

Second Place: $75,000 ($37,500 each)

Third Place: $25,000 ($12,500 each)

Twists

Red vs Blue: A Red and Blue Team were formed, chosen by Cara Maria and Jamie respectively, and were picked by alternating between the alumni and bloodline players so that the initial pairings were divided. Players fate in the game remained the same. The losing player of the elimination and their bloodline on the opposite team will be eliminated. The twist ended in Episode 10 and the game returned to its original format.

Game summary

Elimination chart

Episode

Gender

Challenge winners

Pit contestants

Pit game

Pit outcome

#

Challenge

Last-place team

Winners' selection

Last-place player

Selected player

Winner

Loser

Eliminated

1

Water Battle

Female

Cohutta & Jill

Jenna & Brianna

Christina & Emily

Jenna

Christina

End Of My Rope

Jenna

Christina

Christina & Emily

2

Family Dinner

Male

Cara Maria & Jamie

Cohutta & Jill

Thomas & Stephen

Cohutta

Thomas

Squaring Off

Thomas

Cohutta

Cohutta & Jill

Challenge

Gender

Winners

N/A

Losers' pick

Winners' pick

Pit game

Winner

Loser

Eliminated

3/4

Meet Me Halfway

Female

Red Team

Larissa

Jenna

Door Slammer

Jenna

Larissa

Camila & Larissa

4/5

Air To The Throne

Male

Red Team

Raphy

Mitch

My Way or the Highway

Mitch

Raphy

Dario & Raphy

6

Family Connection

Female

Red Team

KellyAnne

Nany

Ring My Bell

KellyAnne

Nany

Nany & Nicole

7

Hand Me Down

Male

Red Team

Mike

Stephen

Home Wrecker

Mike

Stephen

Thomas & Stephen

8

Too Clingy

Female

Red Team

Jenna

KellyAnne

Spun Out

Jenna

KellyAnne

KellyAnne & Anthony

9

Air Pockets

Male

Red Team

Mike

Jamie

Hand it Over

Jamie

Mike

Abram & Mike

Challenge

Gender

Winners

Last-place team

Winners' selection

Last-place player

Selected player

Pit game

Winner

Loser

Eliminated

10

Weight for Me

N/A

Cory & Mitch

Cara Maria & Jamie

Bananas & Vince

N/A

Through Thick and Thin

Cara Maria & Jamie

Bananas & Vince

Bananas & Vince

11

Truck Crossing

Female

Cory & Mitch

Aneesa & Rianna

Cara Maria & Jamie

Aneesa

Cara Maria

Mine Not Yours

Cara Maria

Aneesa

Aneesa & Rianna

12/13

Final Challenge

N/A

Cara Maria & Jamie

2nd place: Cory & Mitch; 3rd place: Jenna & Brianna

Notes:

Candice initially suffered a busted lip at the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge in Episode 3, and when she returned to the house, she revealed that she also suffered a fractured toe. Prior to the third Pit elimination at the beginning of Episode 4, host T. J. Lavin delivered the news that Candice was medically unable to continue competing. Leroy was sent home as the result of being Candice's bloodline.

Tony was sent to the hospital after he initially thought he suffered a back injury during the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge. When he returned to the house, he declined additional medical attention when producers and fellow contestants noticed that he appeared pale. As the cast and crew were headed to the third Pit elimination at the end of Episode 3, Tony fainted, and was rushed back to the hospital, where his bloodline Shane was summoned to be by Tony's side. Prior to the "Air To The Throne" challenge in Episode 4, T.J. Lavin announced that Tony & Shane were removed from the competition, with Abram and his brother Mike being brought into the competition as replacement players. It was later revealed during the aftershow that Tony suffered a ruptured spleen as well as internal bleeding, and underwent emergency surgery.

Jamie and Mike were selected for The Pit in Episode 9. However, instead of facing each other, each player was met with a shocking twist when CT and Zach were brought into the game. Following a coin flip by T.J., each player was set up to face either CT or Zach in the "Hand it Over" pit elimination, in an endurance competition.

Pit progress

Alumni

Episodes

1

2

3/4

4/5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Finale

Cara Maria

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

PIT

PIT

WINNER

Cory

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

SECOND

Jenna

PIT

SAFE

PIT

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

PIT

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

THIRD

Aneesa

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Bananas

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

OUT

Abram

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

OUT

KellyAnne

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

PIT

SAFE

OUT

Thomas

SAFE

PIT

WIN

WIN

WIN

OUT

Nany

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Dario

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

OUT

Tony

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

OUT

Camila

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Leroy

SAFE

SAFE

DQ

Cohutta

WIN

OUT

Christina

OUT

Bloodlines

Episodes

1

2

3/4

4/5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Finale

Jamie

SAFE

WIN

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

PIT

PIT

SAFE

WINNER

Mitch

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

PIT

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

SECOND

Brianna

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

SAFE

SAFE

THIRD

Rianna

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

SAFE

OUT

Vince

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Mike

SAFE

SAFE

PIT

SAFE

OUT

Anthony

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

WIN

WIN

OUT

Stephen

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Nicole

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

WIN

OUT

Raphy

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Shane

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

DQ

Larissa

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Candice

SAFE

SAFE

OUT

Jill

WIN

OUT

Emily

OUT

Competition

The contestant's team won the final challenge.

The contestant's team lost the final challenge.

The contestant's team won the mission and was safe.

The contestant was safe from the Pit.

The contestant was placed into the Pit and won.

The contestant was placed into the Pit, and their bloodline won.

The contestant's team won the mission and was safe, but their bloodline was placed into the Pit and won.

The contestant was placed into the Pit and was eliminated.

The contestant wasn't part of the elimination round, but got sent home due to their bloodline's loss.

The contestant's team won the mission and was safe, but their bloodline was placed into the Pit and lost.

The contestant was removed from the competition due to injury.

The contestant was forced to leave the competition after their teammate was removed due to an injury.